Courses:

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Multivariable Calculus (18.02) and Physics I: Classical Mechanics (8.01)

12.003 is an undergraduate class designed to help us learn about how the atmosphere and ocean circulate around the globe and what processes control the climate of the planet. Much use is made of laboratory demonstrations to illustrate underlying physical principles.

Teaching this course for several years has led to the development of a text book:

Marshall, John, and R. Alan Plumb. Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics: An Introductory Text. Boston, MA: Elsevier Academic Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780125586917.

Hartmann, Dennis L. Global Physical Climatology. International Geophysics Series. Vol. 56. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1994. ISBN: 9780123285300.

Global Physical Climatology by D. L. Hartmann is recommended as supplementary reading. It should prove useful for both atmospheric and oceanic sections of the course, especially chapters 1-7 of the book, which cover most of the material we will be covering (though in some cases it treats the material differently, and at different depth).

The following books will, in part, be useful for reference (I will draw your attention to sections where these references may be useful and to other sources where appropriate.)

Houghton, John Theodore. The Physics of Atmospheres. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1977. ISBN: 9780521214438.
For the atmosphere, detailed treatment of radiation, and simple and intelligible treatment of dynamics.

Wallace, John M., and Peter Victor Hobbs. Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey. New York, NY: Academic Press, 1977. ISBN: 9780127329505.
Good qualitative discussion of many of the topics we will cover in atmospheric science.

Pickard, George L., and William J. Emery. Descriptive Physical Oceanography An Introduction. Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press, 1982. ISBN: 9780080262802.
One of the few not-too-technical texts on physical oceanography.

The assessment will be in three parts (with weight toward final grade):

1. Homework assignments will be handed out each week that reviews material covered in class. These will serve a multiple purpose: As a component of the teaching process, as an assessment of performance, and as a means of providing feedback to me. (40%; the two lowest marks will be given half-weight)
2. A mid-term test. (20%)
3. A final, closed book, exam on all assessable course material. (40%)